Jerome Williams signs one-year deal with Philadelphia Phillies
Aug 24, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jerome Williams (31) comes off the the field after the sixth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies defeated the Cardinals, 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
The Philadelphia Phillies have gotten themselves a step closer to configuring their 2015 starting rotation.
On Tuesday afternoon the team’s official Twitter account tweeted that right-hander Jerome Williams signed a one-year deal that will keep him in Philadelphia.
#PhilliesUpdate: RHP @pinkpuka36 signed to 1-year contract, which includes performance bonuses.
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 21, 2014
Jim Salisbury of Comcast Sports Net reports the deal is for 2.5 million dollars.
Phillies announce they have signed RHP Jerome Williams to one year contract worth 2.5 mill
— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) October 21, 2014
On August 10th the Phillies selected Williams off waivers from the Texas Rangers. Before landing in Texas he pitched for the Houston Astros, the team he started 2014 with. The Phillies are the seventh team Williams has pitched for. Williams started his 2014 season coming out of the Astros’ bullpen and only pitched in two games with the Rangers. With Philadelphia, however, Williams was exclusively a starter and he performed better than most assumed he would. In nine starts with the Phillies he went 4-2 with a 2.83 ERA. He gave up two earned runs or less in six of his nine starts. One of his losses was a wasted gem in a 1-0 Phillies loss to the San Diego Padres in which he went 7.1 innings and gave up just three hits.
Overall, 2014 was a rocky season for Williams. He went 6-7 with a 4.77 ERA in three different uniforms. The Astros released him on July 8th, about five months after he signed with them as a free agent.
Williams made history on September 20th against the Oakland Athletics when he earned his third win of the season against them. He won against the A’s with all three teams he played for in 2014.
At season’s end, Williams tweeted a photo similar to the one below for each of his 2014 teams.
A former first round pick in the 1999 amateur draft by the San Francisco Giants, Williams will turn 33 on December 4th.